


all our dreams have no limitations

by doctor_goondis_is_here_to_say



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, F/M, I promise, M/M, Multi, Slow Burn, also use of music for fun and zero profit, beau and caleb are not dating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-17 17:20:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16100240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctor_goondis_is_here_to_say/pseuds/doctor_goondis_is_here_to_say
Summary: On the surface, Beau and Caleb have little in common. Beau's the star jock at at Wildemount High School, and Caleb's just the new kid, looking for any excuse to stay out of the spotlight.  When they meet by total chance, however, events are set in motion that will turn Wildemount High, and their own lives, completely upside down.





	all our dreams have no limitations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! *waves* This is my first fic for CR, hope you enjoy! The song in this chapter is a collaboration between Matthew Gerard and Robbie Nevil- you should check them out, they're not very well known but they're really good! If you enjoy, leave a kudos or a comment! Okay thank you!

Outside the resort, the wind howled out a lonely tune, singing its way through snow-capped mountains and dark evergreen forests under the dim light of stars. The inside of the resort was a storm of a different nature. Its warm, red lights spilled out into the cold tundra around it, and its people drifted around the party like the wind’s wanderings outside. Despite the chill, despite the outdated wallpaper and cheesy decorations, the party in the resort was just as full of movement and activity as a hot summer festival.

All except for one redheaded boy, sitting alone on a couch by the bar. In the noise and chaos, he was the only spot of quiet, his only movements to turn the pages of his book. Around him, families were gathering, dressed in their finest clothing for the new year, but Caleb alone seemed indifferent.

“Caleb, it’s New Year’s, why are you reading?” A short, dark-haired girl emerged from the crowd and swiped the book out of his hands. Her age was hard to tell, but she looked about as young as Caleb, with lots of rings on her fingers and jewelry around her neck.

Caleb sat up. “Nott, I’m almost done with the chapter, can I-”

Nott fixed him with a stern look. “We’re going to the party, remember? You promised.” She held out a hand. “C’mon, I even picked out clothes for you.” 

“Fine.” Caleb, reluctantly, took her hand and pulled himself up. “Can I have my book back?”

Nott raised her eyebrow, but gave him his book as they left the room.

Caleb’s couch was not the only spot of solitude in the resort. In the gym, the only living soul was a muscular girl in a blue t-shirt and gym shorts, tossing her basketball at the cheap resort basket again and again. The party was loud upstairs, but all she could hear was the thud of the basket against the ground, the huff of her own breathing, the squeak of her sneakers as she pivoted and aimed-

“Beauregard.”

Beau’s basket went wide, bouncing of the backboard and nearly knocking over a treadmill. Beau wiped her sweaty bangs off of her forehead. “Yeah, Dad?”

He stood in the doorway to the gym, arms sternly crossed. “We didn’t come here for you to play more basketball.”

Beau gestured vaguely at the basket. “I mean, I kinda-”

Her father cut her off with a disdainful noise. “The kid’s party is upstairs. All of your friends will be there. Go shower and change. ”

Beau had many responses to that, some more polite than others, but instead she grabbed the ball. “One more basket. Please?”

Her father threw up his hands. “Fine. Your mother picked out a dress for you.” He turned and left, and Beau grabbed the basketball from where it had rolled under a table. She positioned herself carefully in front of the basket, and leapt forward, giving her throw all the strength of her frustration. 

It sailed over the backboard. Beau exhaled through her nose and stalked out, grabbing a towel on her way.

The kid’s party was exactly what she expected it to be, an awkward mix of children and teenagers, all bunched off in their own small groups or sitting alone at the giant round tables, wishing they had a group. Beau tugged on her red dress as she walked in, eyeing the crowd for anyone she knew. As she expected, her ‘friends’ meant simply the children of her father’s coworkers, none of whom she remotely got along with. 

Across the party, Caleb pushed his way into the room, Nott close behind him. 

“How long do I have to stay?” he asked.

“Not long.” she said, already eyeing the room. She pointed at a gangly teenager furtively lurking near the buffet. “He’s got booze. I’ll be back.”

Caleb sighed, searching for a place to sit. Most of the room was filled with large tables, and, in the center, there was a raised platform where two unfortunate souls were attempting karaoke. However, in another corner, away from the buffet, he discovered an unpopulated couch that looked just old enough to be comfortable. Caleb made a beeline for it, pulling his book out of Nott’s purse as he did. Nott may have convinced him to leave his coat behind, but she could never convince him not to bring a book.

As he opened his book, the karaoke came to an end and several spotlights swooped around the room, nearly blinding him. “Alright, alright!” said a guy into the microphone. He would’ve been at home in a California surf shop, but in a ski resort, he stuck out. “Let’s thank our guests for that awesome song!” Obediently, the crowd applauded. “Now, who wants to take the stage next?”

The crowd clamored with a mixture of excitement and refusal, but no one stepped up to take the stage. Caleb was just beginning to think the karaoke portion of the night was over when the spotlight returned, shining directly in his face.

He looked up from his book to find half the crowd staring at him, applauding, and the surfer guy standing at his side. “You!” he said, extending a hand. “C’mon!”

Caleb looked pleadingly for Nott, but by the time he spotted her in the crowd, the surfer had already lead him back towards the stage, and his book had disappeared into the hands of a stranger. 

“And you!” the surfer said, pointing at a muscular girl in a bright red dress. 

Beau shook her head. “Uh, no.” 

“Come on up!” Hands pushed Beau up towards the stage, and she roughly shrugged them off, but she was already in front of the microphone. The other victim of the party was a skinny red-haired boy who had the eyes of a goldfish facing down a cat. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking anywhere but at Beau.

The surfer draped his hands across both of their backs, gleefully indifferent to their suffering. “Hey, you know what? Someday you might thank me for this.” 

Beau shook off his arm, taking the microphone. She’d storm off the stage, if her ‘friends’ weren’t there. It’d become one more shouting match with her father.

Caleb, meanwhile, finally found Nott in the crowd, with a flask in her hands and a big grin on her face. She gave him a thumbs up as music began playing, a slow, mellow piano ballad, and Caleb swore to kill her for his. After he found his book. 

Beau glanced over at her karaoke partner. Lyrics were up on the screen, flashing blue for the male part, but he didn’t look like he was ready to start singing. She leaned into the microphone, clearing her throat, and began to sing.

_ Living in my own world, didn’t understand _

_ That anything can happen, when you take a chance _

The crowd was barely paying attention, and Beau rolled her eyes, preparing to leave the stage as the next set of lyrics flashed on the screen. Then, however, the boy started singing.

_ I never believed in what I couldn’t see _

_ I never opened my heart to all the possibilities _

He was good, stunningly so. Almost in a trance, Beau stepped back to her microphone, and joined him for the next line.

_ I know that something has changed _

_ Never felt this way, and right here tonight _

_ This could be the start of something new _

Caleb didn’t know what he was doing. All he knew was that the smug look had vanished from Nott’s face. The girl next to him, while clearly as miserable as he was, was talented, with a voice that he’d never imagined coming out of such a rough-looking exterior.

_ It feels so right to be here with you _

_ And now, looking in your eyes, I feel in my heart _

_ The start of something new _

Alarmingly, Beau felt a grin take over her face. The crowd was starting to pay attention now, those stuck-up girls her father wanted her to be friends with watching slack-jawed. Beau grabbed the microphone, bouncing her leg like she’d seen some rock stars do. 

_ Now who’d have ever thought that we’d both be here tonight _

_ And the world looks so much brighter with you by my side _

Caleb still held the microphone tightly against his chest, but he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this relaxed on a stage. His partner was getting into the song, and, strangely, it was charming.

_ I know that something has changed _

_ Never felt this way I know it for real _

_ This could be the start of something new _

_ It feels so right to be here with you _

_ And now, looking in your eyes, I feel in my heart _

_ The start of something new _

The crowd was clapping along now. Caleb couldn’t help but crack a smile as his partner pointed out at the room, dancing along with her lyrics to the song, and, seeing his smile, she grinned, singing the next line directly to him.

_ I never knew that it could happen ‘til it happened to me _

_ Oh, yeah _

Beau couldn’t believe she was having so much fun singing karaoke of all things. Her partner was even enjoying it now. As timid as he had been at the start of the song, he was now rocking along to the beat, as though it were irresistible.

_ I didn’t know it before, but now it’s easy to see, oh _

Beau’s eyes widened as the boy easily hit the high note. She wasn’t sure if she was shocked at his singing, or her own, or more likely, how good they sounded together. 

_ It’s the start of something new _

_ It feels so right to be here with you _

_ And now, looking in your eyes I feel in my heart _

Beau danced towards the boy, but he immediately backed away, nearly falling off the stage. He didn’t miss a single note, however.

_ That it’s the start of something new _

_ It feels so right to be here with you _

_ And now looking in your eyes I feel in my heart _

_ The start of something new  _

Caleb wasn’t sure at what point he’d stopped worrying about the crowd. All he knew was that this girl could sing.

_ The start of something new _

_ The start of something new _

The music faded out, and the shrieks and whistles of the crowd abruptly replaced it. Caleb searched the room, feeling like he’d just chugged one of Nott’s mystery shots. Nott was still over by the buffet, jumping up and down and yelling his name.

“Wow!” the surfer said, taking the microphone from him, but Caleb barely even noticed.

“Beau.” 

Caleb turned. The girl in the red dress had her hand held out to him, a grin still on her face.

“Caleb.” Caleb said, taking her hand. 

Beau indicated the patio outside with a nudge of her head. “You wanna go outside?”

The cold air and relative quiet of the outdoors was a relief after the cramped heat and noise of the party, even if it gave Beau goosebumps in her woefully inadequate dress. Caleb stared at the ground as he walked alongside her, back to his timid self as soon as they’d stepped off the stage. Beau didn’t know why she’d even asked him to talk, only that he was the first halfway interesting person she’d met here.

“You’re a great singer.” she said. “Like, whoa, holy shit. Where did you learn that?”

Caleb shrugged, finding a small empty table lit by a candle. “The shower.” he said. “I don’t sing much.”

“Oh, come on.” Beau said. “You’re good, really good. You haven’t done that before?”

Caleb shook his head. “No. I don’t like crowds. That was nice, though.”

“Yeah, that was fucking awesome.” said Beau. It wasn’t basketball, wasn’t the cheering from the stands and the push against an opponent, but it was something.

“What about you?” Caleb asked. “You’re a singer, right?”

Beau sputtered in exactly the kind of way her father would scold her for. “No. My dad put me in church choir when I was little but that was years ago. I’ve never done something like that.”

Around them, the crowd was growing noisy again, pushing and shoving each other to get back inside. The reason for the excitement became clear as soon as Caleb heard the countdown beginning.

_ Ten, nine, eight, seven- _

He glanced nervously at Beau. He didn’t consider himself particularly attractive, he didn’t think she wanted to....but she was staring back at him, expression unreadable.

_ Six, five, four, three- _

Why was Caleb staring at her? Beau fidgeted with the top of her dress. He didn’t really want to- the song was great, but- 

_ Two, one-  _

“Uh-” Caleb began.

“I’m super gay.” Beau blurted out. 

Behind them, they could hear the crowd cheering as the new year began, the faint strains of  _ Auld Lang Syne _ playing from a speaker somewhere. Above them, colorful fireworks burst into view, breaking through the darkness and quiet of the night outside.

Caleb blinked. “So am I.” 

Beau began laughing, bring a hand to her face. The fireworks lit her up in all different colors, red, blue, green, and yellow. “Oh, thank God.” 

“No, I didn’t want to-” Caleb stuttered.

“No, yeah, I didn’t want to either.” Beau said. “I mean, not that you’re not- but I’m not-”

Caleb waved a hand back towards the party. “I should go, I should go um, find Nott, and wish her a happy new year.”

“Yeah, me too.” Beau said, and blinked. “No, not Nott, not like, your family, but my family.” Caleb turned to go, and Beau, faced with the prospect of one more week of winter vacation alone with her family, practically yelled, “I’ll call you!”

Caleb turned back towards her. In the dim light, Beau couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but a second later, he was pulling his cell phone out of a very flashy purse. “Yeah, sure.” he said, opening his phone. “Uh, here.” 

“Here you go.”

As Caleb entered his number into Beau’s phone, the back of his neck burned. He didn’t know why he was trying. He had plenty of numbers in his phone, of all the people he’d met at all the schools he’d attended over the years, and he never called any of them. He pressed Beau’s phone back into her hand as she returned his.

“Look up.” she said, and Caleb looked up, right into the flash of her phone’s camera. Beau shrugged. “For your contact photo. So I can tell who you are.”

“Right.” said Caleb, dutifully taking a picture of Beau. Beau turned back towards the fireworks, and Caleb took that as his signal to leave, to go and find Nott. He was sure she was waiting to tease him about his performance.

“So,” Beau said, entering Caleb’s name into his phone. He was smiling in his picture, not the smile he’d had onstage, but something more stiff. “Caleb, where do you live?”

There was no response, and Beau glanced up. Caleb had disappeared. 

Beau shut her phone with a sigh, staring at the fireworks. She probably had ten minutes before her parents would come find her, and she intended to enjoy every one of them.


End file.
